The city of Sandy Springs has extended its deadline for residents to register their home alarm systems from Oct. 1 to Feb. 1 before having to pay a $100 fine.

In November 2012 the Sandy Springs City Council approved the city’s false alarm ordinance. Last year Sandy Springs Police responded to 9,096 alarm calls, and 96 percent of them were false, according to a report Police Chief Ken DeSimone gave at last week’s council meeting. The fire department responded to 1,797 alarm calls in 2012, and a similar percentage of those were false.

Earlier this year Waldorf, Md.-based Cry Wolf was contracted by the city to implement the city’s false alarm ordinance, and the company also has a contract with the city of Atlanta. But despite extensive media coverage and legal advertising, not all residents registered their alarms by Oct. 1. DeSimone said only 6,220 alarms had been registered as of Nov. 12. Of its current alarm calls, 54 percent are from alarms not yet registered, he said, adding most did not know about the ordinance.

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